Chapter Text
Despite being in love with Mike Wheeler for most of his adolescence, Will Byers was starting to catch on to the fact that Mike was kind of a loser.
After unlocking his true nature as a sorcerer, Will was a lot more comfortable and confident with himself. He was invited to more parties during his 18th year on Earth than he was ages 0-17 combined. Having accepted himself for who he is, he stopped caring what people thought about him. Which apparently made everyone at school like him a lot more. Not that that matters, now that he’s graduated high school.
Another interesting thing happened when Will stopped caring what others thought. He started to notice what people do when they care too much about the approval of others.
Once he saw it in Mike, it was hard to unsee it. It wasn’t like he cared what random people thought and he definitely didn’t want to be popular or anything. But, holy shit, did he have a pathological desire to be loved. To be needed.
Will could see it all over Mike at this very moment. The party was hanging out in his basement, sitting in a circle on the carpet, with a bottle on its side in the center, playing truth or dare.
Mike, unfortunately for everyone present, had decided to use this game as an opportunity to beg for El to take him back.
“Truth or dare?” Mike says, after the bottle he spun eventually landed on El.
“I pick Truth,” she responds, glancing around the circle warily.
“Why did you dump me?” Mike asks, eliciting a groan from everyone in the room.
El looks at him with a borderline disgusted expression. Max and Lucas cover their faces in their hands. Dustin is rubbing his temples. Will rolls his eyes. Mike stares at El, like a puppy waiting for a treat.
“Mike, this is getting a bit pathetic.” Max says.
“You guys broke up, like, six months ago.” Dustin adds.
Will purses his lips, considering the accuracy of that statement. He knew, from living with El, that the two of them had never really recovered from their fight in California. She had explained that after Mike professed his love for her, they never had another conversation about their relationship. They both just proceeded, business as usual.
Except, in El’s words, it felt different. While Mike was more generous with saying “I love you”, they didn’t kiss as much. Although Mike was more verbally affectionate when they were together, they were not alone together very often. El told Will that in the year and half between California and the final showdown with Vecna, it really felt like they were more friends than anything else.
He remembers telling her, seven months ago, once Vecna was defeated, that perhaps it was just hard to be in a relationship when the world was on the brink of ending and things would get better now. El had considered this, and decided to keep trying with Mike. A month after that, she broke up with him anyway. Six months after that, Mike had apparently refused to move on.
“Would you all shut up?” Mike snaps. “This is the game. El picked Truth.”
“Mike…” El starts. “I already told you. I did not feel like you wanted to be my boyfriend anymore.”
Will watches Max, Lucas, and Dustin all raise their eyebrows in surprise.
“But that’s ridiculous. I’m telling you I do want to be your boyfriend. I love you!”
El shrugs. “You can love people as friends. I think that is how you love me.”
Mike glares at Max, out of nowhere. “It was your idea for her to dump me again, wasn’t it?”
Max holds up her hands innocently. “Back off, Wheeler. I might have convinced her the first time to dump your ass, but the second time was all her. She didn’t even tell me she was planning to!”
Will feels a rush of affection for El and pride in their close relationship. Will was the only one who El confided in about her problems with Mike.
“El, seriously. I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t I want to be your boyfriend? You’re the most amazing-”
“Okay, my turn!” Lucas interrupts. He leans forward to spin the bottle, which lands on Mike. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” Mike responds.
“I dare you to not talk for the next three rounds.”
Mike sighs in frustration as everyone else cheers. Will was relieved. Even when Mike or El were not the focus, Mike still found a way every time to insert himself into the conversation. Last time Max spun, it landed on Lucas, who picked Truth. She asked him what his favorite and least favorite thing about her was. After Lucas answered, Mike had jumped in.
“My favorite thing about El is how independent she is! I love the fact that you don’t need to rely on anyone.”
Will had scoffed at that. The translation of that one was actually: I feel like you don’t need me anymore, so I am trying to convince you that I am okay with that.
“Literally nobody asked dude.” Dustin said.
“It’s not your turn, dumbass.” Max snapped.
So Lucas’s ploy to keep his mouth shut allowed them to have some proper moments of peace.
Max spins next. The bottle lands on Will. He picks Truth.
“Do you have a crush on anyone?” She asks, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at him.
Lucas and Dustin both let out a chorus of immature “ooooooo”s. Mike stares at Will blankly, unable to say anything.
Will and El lock eyes over the bottle. She smiles sympathetically at him.
After she had broken up with Mike, Will had confessed the truth to El about his feelings for him. She had come home that night, not necessarily upset, but definitely less happy than usual.
“Mike is weird sometimes,” she had said. “I do not understand what he is thinking most of the time.”
“What do you mean?” Will had asked when she came into his room, sitting on the edge of the bed to talk to him. Something Will liked about his friendship with Mike was that he always felt as though he knew what Mike was thinking.
“When I broke up with him, there was a moment…he almost looked relieved. I was happy he was not sad. But then he still tried to convince me to change my mind. It confused me.”
“I’m sure he didn’t feel relieved.”
“It was only a second. Maybe I just do not know how boys are supposed to act when they get dumped.”
“I wouldn’t know either.”
El had looked at him cautiously. “Do you know how it feels to love someone?”
“Of course.” Will frowned. “I love you. And Mom. And Jonathan.”
El had pressed her lips together, eyes flickering from side to side like she was looking for something. “I do not mean like that. Do you know what it feels to love someone, not as a friend. Or a family. Love someone… like a boyfriend.”
“Oh. In love.”
El nodded, happy to know the correct phrase. “Yes. In love. Have you ever been in love?”
Will had wanted to lie to her. No, I’ve never been in love, he almost said. But she knew him well enough at that point. She would have said friends don’t lie.
So he told her. That he was in love with Mike. That he had been in love with Mike since as long as he knew was being in love with somebody meant. He tried to explain, best he could, the difference between familial, platonic, and romantic love. He told her how his love for Mike is different from his love for Dustin or Lucas or Max. And how his love for his friends was different still from his love for his mother and brother and her.
El had listened, looking confused, but enraptured by Will’s explanation. After a long while of silence, she had said, “I do not think I am in love with Mike.”
Will nodded. He always wondered. If she didn’t even know what being in love was, how could she be? This statement did not surprise him. Her next words, however, did.
“I do not think he is in love with me either.”
Will had wanted to ask more, but the conversation was over. She had walked out of his room, seemingly happier and more satisfied than when she had entered.
El looks at him now, across the circle, urging him to say something.
Will bites his lip. “Uh. Yeah. I have a crush on someone.”
Max’s eyes go huge. She leans in. “Oh my God, who?”
“You can’t ask two questions,” Will points out. “That’s it.”
Max groans. “This sucks! You’re never going to pick Truth again!”
Probably not, Will thinks.
The next two rounds go by. Dustin and Will spin the bottle, which lands on Max and Lucas respectively. Dustin dares Max to swear loudly in front of Ted Wheeler. Will gets Lucas to admit he doesn’t like Max’s new haircut. Apparently, he likes her hair longer.
It is now El’s turn to spin. The bottle lands on Mike.
“Dare!” He exclaims, louder than necessary. He is clearly thrilled to be able to speak again. “El, dare me to do anything. I will do it!”
“That’s literally how the game works, idiot-”
“Shut up, Max!” He clasps his hands together in a begging motion. “I want to prove to you my loyalty and love. Dare me to do something that will show you how much I want to be with you! Don’t hold back! Please!”
“Dare him to jump off a cliff.” Dustin says, leaning back on his hands.
“Dare him to find a new girlfriend or something.” Lucas suggests.
Max’s eyebrows perk up at that suggestion. An evil expression forms on her face and her eyes flicker to Will, to Mike, and back to Will again. She leans close to El, cupping her hands around El’s ear and whispering something the rest of them can’t hear.
El’s mouth drops open. She turns to Max to respond, but does not bother to whisper. “Max, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? If he can do it, without an issue, it would prove that he loves you and only you.” Max winks at Will, which makes him squirm and then grins mischievously at Mike, who is already agreeing.
“Yes! I told you. Whatever it is, I will do it!”
El looks at Will. He thinks she is trying to communicate with him telepathically or something and he wishes for a moment they had that power. Will looks back at her curiously, considering something for the first time that makes his stomach drop.
Maybe she does want to get back together with Mike. Maybe she is holding herself back because of Will’s feelings. Guilt churns in his gut. As much as it would pain him to see Mike and Eleven back together, Will can’t stand to be the reason El is unhappy.
Will forces an encouraging smile. “Do it, El. He’ll prove it.”
Mike nods furiously at El.
El sighs, resigned.
Will thinks if Vecna came back from the dead at this very moment, it would have been less shocking than what El said next.
“Mike. I dare you to kiss Will.”
Lucas sputters in shock. Dustin, who had comically chosen this exact moment to take a sip of soda, spits it out violently and begins to choke. Will’s face heats up in embarrassment.
Mike is stunned speechless. “W-What?”
“You heard her,” Max says, staring straight at Mike, venom in her eyes.“Kiss Will. For one full minute.”
Mike’s hands are waving around like a mad man. “I- I- don’t- How the fuck is that supposed show that I love El?”
Max shrugs. “You tell me.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, Wheeler,” she responds, matching his fury and pointing accusatorily at him. “That if you really love El, you would be completely unaffected by kissing another person. We don’t exactly have many people to test this theory on. You’re sure as shit not kissing me or my boyfriend. Dustin is dating Suzie. So that leaves Will.”
“I- I-” Mike is still unable to form coherent words.
“What’s the problem? Are you homophobic?”
“No! I just-”
“Then unless you think it will actually prove your undying love for Will, I’m not sure what the issue is.” Max smiles. Her words are a challenge. She is smiling viciously at Mike, the true dare clear in her words. I dare you to say no.
Mike finally looks at Will then, his face growing red. Will is sure his own face is even worse. Will shrugs at him helplessly.
“You wanted a dare to prove your love for her,” Will says, hoping he doesn’t sound as nervous as he feels.
Mike’s face softens. “You’re okay with this?”
A tense silence stretches in the circle. Mike is looking at Will like he wants him to say no. Give me an out, his eyes seem to beg him.
But there is something sick in Will’s mind that is telling him this may be his only chance.
The only chance to kiss the boy he’s been in love with over a decade. The only chance to see if… if those looks that Will thought meant something-
Probably not. Will shoves down any expectations. He remembers the new Will. The confident Will. The Will that doesn’t care what people think of him. The Will that doesn’t need Mike’s love to be happy.
He doesn’t care that Mike doesn’t love him back. Look at what being in love has done to Mike. Begging his ex-girlfriend to give him some test of blind loyalty? For what? Because being El’s boyfriend will make everything in Mike’s life better? That’s not what Will wants for himself. He can’t beg someone to love him.
So whatever. He will kiss Mike and see if it feels like he always dreamed and he doesn’t care if it doesn’t. He may love Mike, but he doesn’t care if Mike kisses him and he doesn’t enjoy it the same way Will might. He will have fun with it. It's his only chance.
It doesn’t fucking matter.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” Will says.
Mike blinks at him. He looks like he is about to argue further. His mouth opens, like he is hoping the right words will just fall out. They don’t.
Mike nods at El. “Okay.”
Max’s smile stretches her entire face. Dustin and Lucas look at each other, eyes wide with surprise.
“I’ll start the clock as soon as your lips touch. I want a real kiss, Wheeler. One full minute. I better see some fucking tongue.”
Mike looks sick, but he scootches closer to Will. They are sitting in front of each other, cross-legged. Mike's hands are fidgeting in his lap. He keeps wiping his palm on his laps.
“Are you ready?” Mike says, his eyes flickering between Will’s eyes and his lips. Will nods, but neither of them do anything.
They stare at each other just long enough for Max to get annoyed. “Just fucking do it,” she says.
Mike is breathing a bit erratically. Will sighs. He needs to put this boy out of his misery.
It doesn’t even matter, remember?
Will closes the gap. He rushes forward, letting his body move faster than his mind, and presses his lips firmly against Mike’s.
The moment their lips touch…Will’s brain short-circuits. He doesn’t know what he is doing, but he starts to move like a man possessed, powered by his new-found confidence and long-time love for Mike Wheeler. Will presses further, his hands coming to cup Mike’s face so he can’t move away. Will thinks he hears a small squeak of surprise from Mike, likely at the force at which Will is kissing him, but he doesn’t think about it. He doesn’t think about anything except his mouth on Mike’s.
The way they are sitting is a little awkward. They can only get so close to each other this way. But Will makes do with what he can. Will pulls Mike in so he doesn’t have to lean forward so much. He parts his lips slightly, catching a small gasp from Mike, and then their tongues are touching. He thinks he can hear Max letting out a slow whistle, but nothing matters. Will has waited so long for this, he almost forgets the reason he is in this position in the first place.
This is to prove Mike only has eyes for El? Fine. Then he shouldn’t be affected if Will presses his tongue a little further, a little more dominantly. Mike shouldn’t care if Will threads his fingers through his long curls and tugs at the nape of his neck to angle his head back and give Will better leverage to deepen the kiss. He shouldn’t care if Will bites his bottom lip and pulls it gently, letting go and leaving a half second of distance between their lips before he’s going in again. Will’s open mouth is connecting with Mike’s, catching Mike’s lips between his own, Mike’s tongue pressing against his own, over and over again. It’s warm and insistent and addictive.
Will begins to pull away, thinking it must be close to a minute they’ve been kissing by now, but as he leans back, Mike chases him. Their lips do not break contact. Suddenly, Mike is kissing him back with equal passion. His movements match the urgency Will feels. Mike’s hands are on him, no longer fidgeting in his lap. One hand is clasped firmly on the back of his neck. His other fingers are touching Will’s cheek, his thumb on Will’s chin, pulling down to open Will’s mouth more. It is maddening, it is dizzying, it is everything.
Someone from the circle clears their throat loudly and the two pull apart suddenly. Will’s heart is racing as his eyes come back into focus.
Mike’s lips are red and glistening with spit. His pupils are blown out as he stares in shock at Will, hands still touching his face.
Slowly, Mike drops his hands and they turn to look at everyone else.
Everyone is staring at them. Well. Not both of them. They are all staring at Mike.
Max’s lips are pressed together, as if trying not to laugh. Dustin has a look on his face like somebody said something stupid to him, like can’t even believe what he is witnessing. Lucas’s eyebrows are raised as far as they possibly can go and he stares at Mike like he’s seeing him for the first time. El’s mouth is agape, but her eyes look as though she finally understands something she didn’t before.
“That was way longer than a minute,” Max finally says.
Mike’s face flushes. He clears his throat and his voice comes out wrecked and unsure. “See….I- uh. I’m in l-love with El. Only El.”
Everyone’s face gets more dramatically shocked. Dustin’s face looks like it does when he is about to lecture someone for being an idiot. A mix of genuine awe, disbelief, disgust, and a plea for a better explanation. Max shakes her head in disappointment.
“Mike. You are such a fucking idiot.”